Pilarz returning to head University of Scranton

SCRANTON — The predecessor will become the successor at the University of Scranton, where Board of Trustee Chair Lawrence Lynch announced Tuesday that the Rev. Scott Pilarz will return to the role of president later this year.

Pilarz served as the university’s president from 2003 to 2011, when he left to take the post of president at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The Rev. Kevin Quinn was named 25th president, replacing Pilarz, but he is stepping down at the end of the current academic year.

A media release Tuesday noted Pilarz was chosen after a national search that began in September with the appointment of a committee that included trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and administrators.

Pilarz is currently president of Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., which the media release says is the oldest Jesuit educational institution in the nation. The University of Scranton was founded by Jesuits and has routinely stressed the value of a Jesuit tradition in academics and student life.

“Father Pilarz remains deeply committed to Georgetown Prep and to ensuring a smooth transition of leadership,” said Lynch. “His starting date at Scranton is yet to be determined, as he works through this process.”

There was no mention of salary, but locally, when members of religious orders become college or university presidents they receive only a modest stipend, with the bulk of what would be their salary going to their religious order.

For example, according to annual reports compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Wilkes University — a private, nonprofit institution, traditionally pays the highest president salary in the region.

In 2014 Wilkes President Patrick Leahy’s total compensation was $365,510. That’s high for the region but when compared to all institutions reviewed by The Chronicle it was below the median — the point at which an equal number of people are paid more and paid less.

By comparison, Quinn received $52,239, while King’s College President the Rev. John Ryan had total compensation of $22,883.